Product Description
Flashback - Journal of the Washington County Arkansas Historical Society Contains three articles on the history of Lake Wedington:Memories of Lake Wedington by Ann Higgans Sugg - daughter of C.B. Higgans, the Lake Weddington Project ManagerWiggan's Hole - History of Lake Wedington by Veronica McGlumphyLake Weddington Workers compiled by Susan Young ... Read more

Product Description
Fore, bella! From the author of critically acclaimed Golfing with God comes a charming narrative of a hole-in-one trip through Italy -- a glorious summer of golfing, eating, and learning how to slow down and enjoy life.

In the summer of 2007, Roland Merullo was feeling a little burnt out by the frantic pace of his life in the United States and decided to rent an Italian villa near the shore of Lake Como. He arrived in Italy with his wife and two young daughters, hoping the Mediterranean air would teach him to appreciatethe more relaxed, Italian way of living: a focus on food, family, and fun. An avid golfer and golf writer, Merullo also set out to enjoy one of Italy's lesser-known treasures: excellent golf on some gorgeous courses.

With his customary wit, keen eye, and down-to-earth style, Merullo shares this fascinating account of his summer in Italy, offering detailed and often humorous descriptions of wonderful meals, colorful characters, rounds of golf at some of the most beautiful courses in Europe, and precious time spent with family. The Italian Summer brings to life the myriad joys of Italian existence in a way that all lovers of food, wine, travel, and the proverbial "good walk spoiled" will savor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Bella Italia
I bought this book on my sister's recommendation.It seemed to be the perfect book for me. I am an avid golfer. I have Italian roots. I have traveled to Italy with my family and I love to cook and eat Italian food. In spite of all those connections, I found myself wondering if someone without my background would enjoy it.I found it a good vacation read.The golf stories are plentiful and well written and they will evoke many memories for the avid golfer.His writing is enjoyable to read as he describes the people and places in and around Lake Como.
Unfortunately I don't think the book will be as enjoyable to the average reader as it was to me.

Nice Read
As a fan of Roland Merullo, I was a little disappointed in this book.It is an enjoyable read but not up to his previous works.As a golfer, I appreciated the details and episodes on the course but could not recommend it to my wife.His voice is still clear and the descriptions of people and places are enjoyable and distinctive as always.However, it did not grab me and make the book impossible to put down. ... Read more

Product Description
This visually exciting, highly informative first reference series is designed to appeal to both children already reading and those yet to learn. Easy to understand text combines with remarkable photography and illustration to help explain different aspects of today's world. Other titles in this series: First Encyclopedia of Space (published May 2001) First Encyclopedia of Animals First Encyclopedia of Our World (shortlisted for the Aventis Science Book Prize 2000) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Usborne First Encyclopedia of Seas and Oceans
I like these books because they are great to use with ESOL students who are learning to read English and have to do sophisticated work in the content areas.These books help by providing an easy to read passage and plenty of photographs.They are very helpful.Young kids will love them too.

Super for the growing scientist!
Excellent mix of good photography and artwork. Insightful information. Good start to geta youngster interested in the aquatic world!

Wonderfully Informative and Creative
I am planning to use this book in teaching middle school science. Although the contents are reletively basic, the internet links are vast and provide considerable and diverse learning opportunities. I would recommend this book for ALL ages.

Not quite the encyclopedia
I would downgrade the age range for this rather slim book to 4-6 years old.It is beautifully illustrated and cheerfully colorful but the factual coverage is very light -- it's really not anything near encyclopedic -- more like an abridged pocket-type miniguide.It covers about 30 main topics with four to five subtopics, with about one or two sentences on each topic or subtopic.Each topic gets about two pages.A seven year old with good reading skills will probably consume it in 10 minutes.

Fact-filled book --- plus internet links!
My daughter bought this book through a school bookfair and thoroughly loved reading it.I would give the book alone 5 stars for all the enjoyment and knowledge she's gotten from it.However, on every page, there is an internet link where you can get much more information about each subject in the book.What a bonus!I highly recommend this book for middle-grade elementary school children who like science. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (52)

LohhveD iT !!
Read THis BooK if you want to
a. Pee your pants laughing
b. Enjoy procrastination (chores, work, family gathering) more than ever
c. Crack up out loud in a quit coffee house, leading to everyone staring at you (kinda like Bobbie Faye)
d. all of thE aboVe

DDDDDDDD!!!!

Please also see my review of Bobbie Faye's Family Jewels, in which i add a bit more detail about both books (cause i read them consecutively yesterday and today! - do i know how to have fun on a sunny Memorial Day Weekend or what?!)but seriously... both books were sooo funny that i just didn't want to stop the adventures. but... bummer of all bummers, i'm outa books... gotta find the next one...

BEWARE
Beware!While I love this author and truly enjoyed her novel "Bobbie Faye's Very(very, very, very) Bad Day I looked forward to additional titles about this uniquely South Louisiana character.Imagine my surprise when I got this title to find that I had already read this book under the title listed at the beginning of this review.If you already have the Bobbie Faye's Very Bad Day title this title IS THE SAME BOOK PACKAGED DIFFERENTLY.

With all this being said, if you love wacky characters who have the kind of life with the mantra that anything that can go wrong and usually does then you will like this book.It does have a South Louisiana flair snd some of the idiosyncrasies unique to this area might be lost on readers.Do not let this stop you from enjoying this book.Everyone has had just one of those days when you just wish you had stayed in bed.No matter what Bobbie Faye does she just can't seem to get it right no matter how hard she tries.A fun read that is sometimes comic, sometimes heart warming almost everyone will be able to empathize with Bobbie Faye.

Stephanie Plum Lovers will love this!
Just finished the book yesterday and can't wait for the next 2 to arrive in the mail!
If you're a lover of the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich, I'm sure you'll love this series as well.It is action packed from page 1, filled with humor and southern charm but a little low on the romance for my taste (though not low enough that it stopped me from searching every book store yesterday in the area to find book #2).However, if you have a problem with 4-letter words, you might want to rethink this book as the author does not filter out the potty-words.I don't have any problems with them and given the situations the heroine finds herself in, I'd probably be following her lead ;-)

The basics:The heroine is southern born & bred with a family that's causing her more trouble than her reputation of being a natural disaster.She's pulled into an adventure of the rather unbelievable kind but she's taking it in stride & with help of friends & strangers she seems to overcome the most impossible odds.Romance is implied but not explored much and this is basically just a fun read that have you laugh out loud and a real page-turner.I recommend this book to everyone who has ever loved a book of the Stephanie Plum series or who just plain like to laugh through an action-packed summer read.

I was up ALL night with this one!
Bobbie Faye is having a really, really bad day (The original title - go figure.I found this out after I had written the review).

The book starts off with Bobbie Faye waking up to her trailer being flooded by a leaking water pipe, then her brother gets kidnapped and the kidnappers are demanding her mom's Contraband Days tiara as ransom.

When she goes to the bank to get the tiara out of her safe-deposit box, she has no idea she's about to get tangled up in a bank robbery, carjacking, police chase, hostage situation, and a bear attack; all with her as the instigator.With two hunky men trying to keep her safe, Bobbie Faye has it made.Now, if she can just get through the day alive.

~~~

I have never been so exhausted while reading a book than I have with Charmed and Dangerous.I picked this book up from my "to-be read" shelf one evening after a long day at work and school with every intention of running a warm bath and sinking in to the written word.Before I knew it, I was sitting in ice water, turning pages faster than my eyes could read, and not wanting to take the few minutes required to get out and dry off. I stayed up until 4 am to finish the book and didn't even regret the late night when I got up an hour and a half later to go to work. Yes, it was that good.Toni McGee Causey has a real knack for creating a character like Bobbie Faye and making her relatable to everyone.I was torn between rooting for her cause and being appalled that one person could have that much bad luck.

What I loved most about this book was that even though she had two men trying to keep her alive, it was Bobbie Faye who took matters into her own hands and kicked some serious ass.

It's a good thing I didn't have the other Bobbie Faye novels that night because I might have (okay, yes, I would have) called in sick the next day so I could read them. I'll be picking up the others in the series but will wait until the weekend to start reading because I now know I'll have to dedicate several hours to them (I say this only because I'm all out of sick leave...grin...).

Rating: 5 Petit Fours and 2 Hot Tamales (but with serious potential to be a scorcher if the author heads in that direction)

Petit Fours and Hot Tamales Blog

not what I expected
I bought this book on sale, and while it wasn't bad, the storyline and main characters felt like they were a southern version of Stephanie Plum and her gang..... ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (12)

the things you never knew before!
We checked this out at the library for our very science oriented family, specifically our 5yo son.My husband and I were absolutely amazed by "ocean drift" and found the book just as captivating (or more so) than our son.We decided to buy it on Amazon to permanently have for ourselves and have already shared it with many of our friends.Great pictures, very readable and understandable for young children even.

If you know someone who likes nature /ecology/ oceanography/ conservation of any age- this would be a great gift!

Very enjoyable!
Tracking Trash is the story of Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer who studies the movement of ocean currents.Dr. Ebbesmeyer's work has attracted attention because he has received much of his information from studying trash.It all began when his mother heard about sneakers that were washing up on a beach after a cargo ship lost one of its containers.Since then, he has tracked sneakers, Lego's, and even rubber duckies that have been accidentally spilled at sea and made their way to shore.By understanding how ocean currents move, scientists hope to solve many problems such as fish shortages and animals being caught in fishing nets.This book was very enjoyable to read and easy to understand.The pictures were large and engaging.The author did a great job at making it feel like a story while at the same time giving a lot of scientific information.

Puts the scientific explanations into pictures - fascinating
I live on the beach and have always wondered why there is so much garbage and why there seems to be more now than 10 years ago.This not only explains it all, but provides photographs and maps that make it all make sense.I know this is geared to a younger audience, but who has the patience to wade through volumes just to find out why our coastlines are so full of trash? Why we can't stay on top of it and why we continue to find dead sea life on the shores.What we are doing to our environment is horrible, but this book puts it into a quick read.I have a hotel and every guests manages to read this book.I would make it the equivalent of watching a documentary on the subject - a little entertaining and a lot of knowledge in a couple of hours.It's great coffee table conversation too.

Richie's Picks: TRACKING TRASH
"Mr. Thompson calls the waiter, orders steak and baked potater
But he leaves the bone & gristle & he never eats the skins.
Then the bus boy comes & takes it, with a cough contaminates it
As he puts it in a can with coffee grounds & sardine tins.
Then the truck comes by on Friday & carts it all away
And a thousand trucks just like it are converging on the bay."

Perhaps the dumping of garbage into the bay is not quite as blatant today as it was back in 1969 when Bill Steele wrote his eco-ditty, "Garbage," but it seems that today's never-ending flow of plastic garbage into the oceans is of more dire and destructive consequence to the oceans' long-term survival than anything they've previously faced.This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from the fascinating and important TRACKING TRASH: FLOTSAM, JETSAM, AND THE SCIENCE OF OCEAN MOTION.

Who knew that beachcombers kept meticulous logs of their finds or that they actually held conventions?Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer who began his widely-publicized work with ocean currents and tracking trash when his mom asked him to figure out why hundreds of sneakers had begun washing up on beaches near Seattle, has uncovered significant clues through his ongoing communications with beachcombers.We learn in TRACKING TRASH that there are slight changes year to year in the oceans' currents and that projections of those current flows is now a well-refined science whose origins harken back to scientific work by Benjamin Franklin.

The first part of TRACKING TRASH is especially entertaining to read.Huge cargo containers periodically fall from enormous cargo ships in big storms.The cargo gets loose and takes off with the currents.Many readers will be amused by the thought of eighty thousand Nike sneakers drifting eastward in the currents, of twenty-nine thousand rubber duckies and froggies bobbing merrily along, or of five million LEGO pieces breaking loose in the middle of the Atlantic.But the incidents of lost cargo are a drop in the bucket; they're less than one-fifth of the problem.The remainder, the more serious story, is of large quantities of garbage -- so much of it plastic-based -- getting flushed out of rivers and bays into the sea.

Having fond memories of creating "whirlpools" with friends in little backyard swimming pools, it is not surprising to learn that when a stream of indestructible plastic garbage is continually dumped into the ocean, it will eventually come together in a big bobbing mass surrounded by circulating currents.What is impressive (or, more likely, alarming and depressing) is that a so-called Garbage Patch in the Pacific is now as big as the state of Alaska and estimated to be composed of the accumulation of six BILLION pounds of plastic this, plastic that, and plastic everything else.

"What happens to this plastic trash during the decades it floats around the Garbage Patch?Not much, because plastic is one of the most indestructible materials on the planet.This is one of the reasons we find it so useful.Plastic is found in everything, from the toys we play with to the plates we eat from, the cars we drive, and even the clothes we wear.
"Unfortunately, the very property that makes plastic a useful material for all these items makes it virtually impossible to get rid of.There is no organism anywhere on the planet that can digest plastic.A long exposure to sunshine, wind,, and waves will eventually break plastic objects into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic, but those small pieces are still made entirely of indestructible, indigestible plastic.

And when birds and marine mammals get mixed up with all of this plastic they die.

"Bottle caps and disposable lighters are seen in the carcasses of sea birds found on beaches from Hawaii to Washington.Apparently the birds are mistaking floating plastic for food.Many of these birds die of starvation because the plastic filling their stomachs can be neither digested nor excreted. Discarded fishing nets and other fishing gear can tangle and drown fish, sea turtles, seals, and other animals.Experts now estimate that the number of marine mammals in the Pacific Ocean that die each year due to plastic ingestion and net entanglement approaches 100,000."

This particular passage in the well-illustrated book is accentuated with a photo of a dead, rotting bird complete with the fifty-nine plastic pieces that were stuck in its gut.

The immediate solution?Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.If plastic bags are so indestructible, then I shouldn't take one unless I'm going to reuse it numerous times and then recycle it.Long term, there is no question that big changes must be made in terms of manufacturing and consuming so much petroleum-based plastic stuff.

"There's nothing left to watch & there's nothing left to touch
There's nothing left to walk upon & nothing left to talk upon
And nothing left to see & nothing left to be but Garbage!"

As with other books I've read in the Scientists in the Field series, TRACKING TRASH reveals the profiled scientists to be pretty cool people with extremely interesting jobs.It'll definitely inspire interest by readers in science.

Should be read by adults too
While published for children, 'Tracking Trash' is definitely readable by all, and is especially poignant for anyone who thinks that trash/litter just eventually disappears. The discovery of a floating garbage dump in the ocean the size of Alaska attests to the contrary. A few years ago I had a sudden realization myself at how dependent we are on plastics. Look around you right now: What isn't made of plastic? It's astounding. Two facts that will stick with me: No organism on earth can digest plastic, and plastic doesn't naturally break down into anything - except smaller pieces of plastic. ... Read more

Product Description
Sports Help Girls Thrive in All Aspects of Life…

Every parent wants to help their daughter build the skills she needs to be happy and successful. How do you make it happen? Get her into sports! In Go Girl!, NBC sportscaster Hannah Storm helps you take an active role in encouraging and supporting your daughter’s athletic interests, giving her the edge she needs to excel in life.

The benefits of sports for girls are numerous. Girls who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression. High-school girls who play sports are more likely to get better grades in school and to graduate. New research shows that as little as four hours of exercise per week may reduce a girl’s risk of getting breast cancer as an adult by up to 60 percent.

Filled with advice and techniques from the nation’s top experts, Go Girl! tells parents:

--How to promote fitness and activity in babies and toddlers

--When to start your daughter in organized sports, and how to choose the right sport

--How to keep pre-teens and teenagers interested

--What to do if your daughter shows elite potential

--How to evaluate your daughter’s coach

--What it means to be a good sports parent

--What the sports health concerns of a young female athlete may be and how to handle them

Go Girl! is the ultimate guide to making sure that young girls take to life with confidence, passion and a love of the game. ... Read more

Product Description

Now available for the first time in years, My Turn at Bat is Ted Williams' own story of his spectacular life and baseball career.

An acclaimed best-seller, My Turn at Bat now features new photographs and, for the first time, Ted's reflections on his managing career and the state of baseball as it is played in the 1980s. It's all here in this brilliant, honest and sometimes angry autobiography -- Williams' childhood days in San Diego, his military service, his unforgettable major league baseball debut and ensuing Hall of Fame career that included two Triple Crowns, two Most Valuable Player awards, six batting championships, five Sporting News awards as Major League Player of the Year, 521 lifetime homeruns and a .344 career batting average. And Williams tells his side of the controversies, from his battles with sportswriters and Boston fans to his single World Series performance and his career with the declining Red Sox of the 1950s.

My Turn at Bat belongs in the library of everyone who loves Ted Williams, baseball, or great life stories well-told.

Red Barber proclaimed My Turn at Bat to be: "One of the best baseball books I've ever read." John Leonard of The New York Times said My Turn at Bat was "unbuttoned and wholly engaging...the portrait of an original who is unrepentant about being better than anyone else." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

My Turn At Bat
My Turn at Bat: The Story of My Life (Fireside Sports Classics)This book was purchased as a gift for my grandson and he is very pleased with it.

Unrepentant and unapologetic Ted Williams on the life of Ted Williams
This book, in Williams' own words, is a biased, yet largely honest appraisal of his life and career as a player. Written in 1970, approximately one decade after he retired as a player and shortly after he re-entered the game as a manager, Williams was still young enough to be assertive about his role in the game. He shows no repentance for his actions, time has not yet mellowed Williams, a fact that helped lead to his dismissal as a manager shortly after the book was published.
There is much to speculate about what Williams would have accomplished had be not been called into military service twice, in both World War II and in Korea. He lost four and a half seasons due to his service, all of which were in the prime of his career. Had he been exempted, even if only for Korea, it is possible that when he retired he may have owned every significant batting record.
Williams mentions this, how deeply bitter he was about the call up for Korea and yet how he kept from complaining. He saves most of his invective for the baseball writers, as there was a mutual dislike between Williams and some of the press that covered the sport. Ted Williams was a great baseball player, while he had the potential to be the greatest circumstances intervened to prevent it. Off the field and to ordinary people, Williams was also a great person, he exhibited a kindness to others that many players never exhibit. In this book we see all sides of Williams, from his arrogance to his humility.

WOW Teddy can ramble
Interesting book, it appears to have been written as if Teddy Baseball were speaking into a tape recorder.Strange at times but VERY enjoyable!!

In His Own Words
In its original printing, "My Turn at Bat" was a real eye opener for those seeking the real story of Ted Williams.Continuously battered by negative media attention throughout his playing days, myth and scandal seemed to terrorize Williams.While Williams may not have always made the best public relations decisions through his career, he may in fact be the greatest hitter in baseball history.This is his story in his own words.

Though some biographies go into greater detail about Williams' life, this is a very personal version.At times, one must realize that he is creating a positive image of himself.I suspect more often than not, he is being completely accurate.The matter of fact story telling seems as though it is coming right from the mouth of Ted Williams.This creates the one major problem with the book.The chronology of the story seems to jump all over the place.It really takes away from the story.

The book is also advertised to be an explanation of Ted Williams' theory and practice for hitting. Yet in reality, there are only a few pages.But the brief thoughts are still valid today.Today's hitters would be well served to follow his theory.

Fans of Ted Williams will enjoy this book, particularly if you can find an older copy like I did.It is a treasure.

From the hip
In his autobiography, legendary Ted Williams details his illustrious career in baseball with a wide spectrum of human emotions.From passion to disparity, Williams tells it like it is.
He blasts sports writers for their one sidedness's and fabrications, talks highly and respectful of many managers, players and close friends, and above all he talks baseball...especially hitting.
Losing nearly six years to military service and injuries, there is a strong possibility that Williams would have set even more incredible records.
A strong-willed reflection of his life in his own words. It's as if you have Ted right there in your own home and listening directly to the greatest hitter of all time. ... Read more